The present invention relates to printing upon textiles. More particularly, the invention relates to methods for digital inkjet printing and methods for applying foil upon textiles.
There are a wide variety of processes for textile printing in which color is applied to fabrics in defined patterns or designs. For purposes herein, the term “textile” and “fabric” are to be interpreted broadly and substantially interchangeably to include a structure produced from weaving, felting, knotting, knitting, binding or otherwise combining natural or synthetic fibers. Textiles include a wide variety of finished products including finished garments and apparel fabrics, as well as carpets, flags, banners, as well as the fabric materials for furniture pieces, to name just a few. Similar to the dyeing of textiles, textile printing entails the application of color ink to a textile. Unlike dyeing, textile printing applies color to only predetermined areas of the textile to create sharply defined patterns.
There are a wide variety of processes for textile printing including block printing, perrotine printing, engraved copper plate printing, roller/cylinder printing, stencil printing, screen printing and digital inkjet printing. Thought to be the oldest process, wood block printing is more than 2,000 years old and is thought to have originated in China. In this process, a design is carved upon a wooden block. Color ink is applied to the block design and the block design is pressed upon the cloth. Typically, a wooden mallet is struck upon the block to create an impression. Separate blocks and impressions are required for each distinct color.
Presently, screen printing is the most common method for textile printing. There are two types of screen printing, namely rotary screen printing and flat bed screen printing. For screen printing, a screen is made of a piece of porous, finely woven fabric called “mesh” which is stretched over a frame of aluminum or wood. Originally, women's hair was used to create a woven screen. Thereafter, silk was woven to make a screen mesh. This resulted in the screen printing often being called “silk screen printing”. Currently, the mesh is woven from man-made materials such as steel, nylon and polyester. To create a pattern, areas of the screen are covered with a non-permeable material to form a stencil. This stencil is a negative image of the image to be printed as the open spaces allow ink to pass through for application to a fabric. Ink is placed on top of the screen and a fill bar, also commonly referred to as a flood bar, squeezes the ink to fill the mesh openings. The operator then uses a blade to press the mesh down upon a fabric and forces the blade to the rear of the screen. Ink within the mesh travels by a capillary action to the textile substrate in an amount proportional to the thickness of the mesh. Advantageously, the screen can be reused after each use. Moreover, once the design is no longer required, the screen can be reclaimed for the use of an alternative stencil.
Inkjet printing, also referred to as digital textile printing, is the fastest growing method of textile printing in the United States. Inkjet printing entails the use of specialized or modified inkjet printers. The inkjet printers typically include a printing table for holding a textile piece. The printer further includes a plurality of inkjet heads, each having an array of color printheads. More recently, inkjet printers have been constructed which include a white printhead for printing white ink. Though becoming less common, inkjet digital printing also includes printing the desired pattern upon transfer paper. Thereafter, the image is cured and fixed upon a fabric.
Even with the wide variety of methods for textile printing, printers are trying to develop methods to improve image quality and provide more striking images. For example, luminescent inks have been developed for textile printing. Moreover, metal foil has been recently introduced for image embellishment. Specifically, metal foil printing has recently been made to decorate garments. Foil printing uses a metallic foil transfer sheet in a process that produces a shiny design commonly of silver or gold. Typically, there are two methods for foil printing. In a first method referred to as foil stamping, sculpted stamps are created. A foil typically backed by Mylar, is positioned against a textile material. Thereafter, a stamp is applied with enough pressure and heat so that the foil sticks only in intended places. In an alternative process, an adhesive, such as Plastisol® is applied to the fabric. The Plastisol® is applied using standard screen printing techniques to create a desired pattern. Thereafter, foil transfer paper is positioned over the printed adhesive. The fabric and foil are positioned within a heat press and the heat press is activated to apply sufficient heat and pressure to transfer/adhere the foil only to the pre-printed adhesive. The fabric and foil are allowed to cool to affect adherence. Thereafter, the foil transfer paper is removed from the fabric leaving foil upon the fabric only in the areas where the adhesive pattern had been created.
Foil printing works very well in combination with screen printing. Unfortunately, acceptable adhesives have not been developed which will operate with existing inkjet printing heads. Thus, there is a significant need for a method of printing a foil image upon textiles which can be accomplished using inkjet printing of an adhesive.
It would also be desirable to provide a method of printing a foil image upon a textile which does not require an unusual or expensive adhesive for use with inkjet printing heads.